Yeah, that struck me as weird too. Why would anyone be that determined to ensure that one of his own players/coaches not know about a record that they could possibly break?
irvin will probably get in next year, its not a strong class. moon is lucky, deion was also supposed to be in this class until he came back to play again.
That anecdote is really interesting. I have a recollection that Moon said after the game that he didn't want to show up KC in case we face them in the playoffs. Now I wonder if Moon was just spinning, or if Dr. Z is talking out of his ass. For now, I'm leaning towards Dr. Z/ass.
Well, either John McClain gave that speech and included that story last weekend, or Dr. Z totally fabricated it for no apparent reason. I'm leaning toward the prior scenario as more likely - seriously, you think it was more Moon's style to give credit to the other team and not run them down, or say "Yeah, I could have smashed the record had it been important to me -- they couldn't stop mel."
I don't see where Dr. Z claims that McClain said in his speech that Holovak kept the PR guy from telling the bench. The way I read it, that was Dr. Z's own reporting -- Dr. Z is the one who quotes the PR guy. And yes, from the way I remember the persona Moon gave to the media in those days, it's very much in character for him to praise another team. Besides, I have a very clear recollection of him saying that he didn't want the record because I remember watching that game and being so frustrated that they didn't go for the record. But, like I said earlier, it is possible that Moon was spinning and Dr. Z's report is true. (Since we do know now that a lot of what Moon portrayed to the media was spin.) Odd, though, that this is the first time we've ever heard about it (Holovak not letting the bench know about the record).
OK, I just did a LexisNexis search, and this article came up. (Sorry, no link as it's a LexisNexis article.) So, either Moon is lying about the bench telling him he was close to the record, Dr. Z is lying, or Chip the PR guy is lying. Whatever. It's not that important. At least I remembered Moon's postgame quote correctly. The Boston Globe December 23, 1990, Sunday, City Edition HEADLINE: Moon didn't shoot for it BYLINE: By Will McDonough, Globe Staff BODY: With one of the great NFL records within easy grasp of his very hot hand last Sunday in Kansas City, Warren Moon chose to cool it, probably costing himself the league's single-game passing yardage record. "They told me on the bench that I had a shot at it," the Pro Bowl quarterback of the Houston Oilers said, "but I thought it would have been the classless thing to do - to go out and go for a record when the most important thing for us to do was to hold onto the ball and win the game." Moon did just that, refusing to pass when Houston had a final turn with the ball in the Oilers' big 27-10 win over the Chiefs. In doing so, Moon came up 27 yards short of the record held by Norm Van Brocklin, who didn't mind being classless the day he set it. On Sept. 28, 1951, at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Rams quarterback passed for 554 yards and five touchdowns against the hapless New York Yanks. Van Brocklin threw 41 times, completing 27. However, with his team leading, 41-14, entering the fourth period, Van Brocklin continued to bomb away, completing 10 passes for 161 yards in that final period, with five of those passes coming in a drive that led to a touchdown in the final minute. Even though Moon did not break the record, his performance was better than Van Brocklin's. The record was set against a 1-9-2 Yanks team, whereas Moon was throwing the ball in very cold weather in Kansas City against an outstanding defense, which some feel has the best secondary in the league. Both cornerbacks - Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross - were voted to this season's AFC Pro Bowl team. On paper, Moon came up short. But in reality, his was the much bigger performance, in more ways than one.
The tidbit about the GM and the PR guy clearly states that the PR guy was able to make a phone call to the bench. I don't think anyone's lying.
Wow, I totally misread the tidbit. thanks for the clarification and preventing me from further making a jerk of myself. I read the blurb really quickly and missed the last graph where he actually got the call through ...
LOL, no problem. I was kinda confused at first too. BTW, my wife may be offered a job in Philly. You'll have to show us around if we move.
Not a problem! Do you know how hard it was for me to find someone who would go to the game Monday night? The one YOF I know was out of town... Keep me posted. And if you have questions about quality of life, cost of living, etc shoot me an e-mail.
Sounds good man. It is a long-shot. There's so much to consider when making a huge move like that. But honestly, I thought of you and another one of my good friends that lives there when she brought it up. We'll definitely be making a trip their fairly soon. Her grandparents live there as does the aforementioned good friend. Maybe we'll make sure it's when the 'Stros are in town and we can catch a game.
Kudos to Warren Moon - a Hall of Famer, and the greatest Edmonton Eskimo ever. He should have been drafted by an NFL team, but he wasn't because he was black. If he played in the NFL those years, his numbers would have been even more ridiculous - probably #1 in passing yards all-time. As for me, I have nothing but thanks to all of the racist coaches and GMs who didn't want Warren Moon coming out of college. WAR Edmonton Eskimos - current Grey Cup champs!
All hail Moon. No doubt he deserves it. On a related topic, looking at it objectively, I can't figure out why the Redskins are being shut out. Monk and Grimm were part of a team that won 3 Superbowls with 3 different starting QBs. Think about that for a moment. That Monk was able to do what he did with such a QB turnover is just short of remarkable. Grimm and the whole OL, especially Joe Jacoby, should be in the Hall... they were the most dominant unit in the NFL for almost a decade.
happy to hear it!!! warren moon was a special quarterback. LOVED those teams in the house of pain & run and shoot eras!!!
